Mental health and psychological well-being in later life will be examined in relation to childhood and adolescent social relations, marital careers, and earlier mental health. The proposed work is part of an ongoing longitudinal study that has followed over 300 participants from childhood to late middle age. The first aim of the study is to test the assumption that mentally healthy people are more likely to marry, but that marriage also contributes to mental health by providing emotional support and buffering the effects of stress. A second aim is to test the assumption that the impact of early family relationships on adult mental health and marital careers is mediated by childhood and adolescent peer relations, and that there are alternative routes to adult mental health. Major measures of mental health are an index of mental health derived from the personality Q sort, Haan's ego ratings, and the California Personality Inventory. A standardized scale of psychological well-being will be included in the current assessment. Marital measures include self- and observer ratings of marital satisfaction and intimacy, and life course data on marital careers. Childhood and adolescent measures of attachment to parents and social relations with peers are based on existing archival data. The specific aims of the study are: (1) To assess the nature of the relationship between mental health and marriage. (2) To assess the relationships among stressful life events, marital experience and mental health. (3) To assess the relationship between marriage and psychological well-being in later life and childhood and adult social experience. (4) To assess the association between marriage and current well-being. (5) To assess trends in marital satisfaction through time. (6) To assess the contribution of emotional intimacy to marital satisfaction and psychological well-being.